Package



P. GRABLER' June 25, 1935.

P`ACKAGE Filed March 26, v1954 v11m/Ecke PETER G RABLER X%` S ATTORNEYJ Pertedlne 25'1035A UNITED STATE PACKAGE Peter Grabler, Rocky River, Ohio, assignor to -L..E. Shunk, Akron, Ohio Application March 2G, 1934, Sel'lal No. 717,324

10 Claims.

This invention relates to a package and particularly to a package for flexible articles.

An object of my invention is to provide a package of sheet materiaLdeformed in a manner to thoroughly seal it but openable by hand without tools even though the sheet material be metal of considerable thickness.

Another object of my invention is to provide a sealed package for flexible articles which may be opened by hand by twisting the entire package.

Another object of my invention is to provide a package which may be made of relatively light deformable material, such as metal foil, but which by reason of its form will retain .its shape even though the article encased in the package is quite ilexible. I

Other objects include the arrangement of the package in such form that it may be easily and cheaply constructed with the contents assembled therein.

In the drawing and description I have illustrated and described preferred embodiments of my invention and the essential features are summarized in the claims.

In the drawing Figs. 1, 2 and 3 are diametrically extending sections through three modifications, Fig. 3 being a view along the line 3-3 of Fig. 4; Fig. 4 is a plan view of the package of Fig. 3; Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the package of Fig. 1 which has been twisted to open it; while Fig. '6 is a perspective view of a portion of still another modified form.

My invention comprises in general the -provision of a package for an article or articles which are inherently unable to maintain a rigid shape, the package being preferably formed of light sheet material which may or may not be capable of remaining rigid when in the flat sheet form. My invention also provides a substantially rigid package even when the'packaging material is so light as to be incapable of remaining rigid when in sheet form. Such materials-*include metal foils of .005 inch thickness and less. It is desirable to package certain articles withv very light materials for ease in handling, but such packages are of little value unless the article is tightly sealed and protected against harmful agents, and unless the package retains its shapel when handled and' is easily openable, preferably without tools.

My package comprises, in general, a pair of covers of deformable sheet material adapted to be twisted by hand. Each cover vhas a substantially flat central portion surrounded by a raised portion bent outwardly from the central portion and away from the enclosed article lthen bent (Cl. 20G-1) back again toward the enclosed article and beyond the plane of the. central portion. The free edge of one cover then overlaps the free edge of the other cover and is spun or otherwise permanently deformed thereover in embracing relation. The raised rims of the covers strongly reinforce the sheet material and the package is further guarded against deformation by the overlapping and overspun edges. A package so formed is very light in weight and is tightly sealed against l10 dirt and other foreign matter. The covers will not come apart by a straight pull longitudinally, nor by ordinary handling. However, by manually twisting the entire package in the hands, the spun edges are easily forced apart for removal of the article. This twisting is the more easily accomplished because thepackaged article is flexible and the packaging material is light enough to be deformable by ha'nd.

In the various views of the drawing the package comprises covers I0 and II having substantially fiat central portions I2 surrounded by raised portions I3. The raised portions are bent outwardly at I4, then inwardly at I 5to extent beyond .the planes of their respective central portions I2.

The edges of the covers overlap as at I6 and the free edge of one is bent or spun over the edge of the other cover in embracing relation. It will be' understood that the thicknessof the cover material is greatly exaggerated in the drawing.

The covers are cut and formed from sheet material lwhich is deformable, that is to say, material which has the characteristic of retaining the shape given to it in the forming operations.

The material should be of such a nature that it may be twisted by hand if all of the advantageous features of my invention are to be realized. Suitable materials comprise metal sheets, particularly metal foils, and treated papers and cellulose compositions. Metal sheets and foils are suitably formed in dies by pressure alone but some of the other materials require heated dies. The details of such die-forming operations yare well known to persons skilled in the art. My preferred method ofl constructing the package is to pre-formeach cover, to then place the packaged article in the lower cover, as seen in Fig. I, and thereafter to place the upper cover thereover and bend its edge over the edge of the Vbottom cover. i

This form of package is specially adapted to contain a flexible article having a flat central portion surrounded by a thick annular ring. This would include rubber articles such as finger cots and similarly shaped articles for the pre- ISIS vention of disease. This form of article is indicated at I8 in Fig. 1.. In this case the at central portions I2 of the covers are circular and correspond in extent substantially` to the flat cental portion I9 oi.' the article and are spaced apart to accommodate the article. The annular portion I3 of each cover is substantially complementary to half the annular ring 2l of the article as divided along a plane parallel to the lcentral portion of the article.

This package is designed especially to contain ilexible articles which are inherently incapable of maintaining a rigidv position. This might include the flexible rubber articles mentioned above or it might include a plurality of small loose articles.

Due to the particular form of the package it will retain its shape under average conditions even though constructed of sheet material ordinarily not rigid in plain sheet form, Such for instance as a metal foil of .005 inch in thickness or less. Such a foil makes an attractive package of very light weight. The combined annular portions I3 of the two covers, when assembled, provide substantially a continuous tube about the periphery of the package which greatly rigidies the same. Additional reinforcement is supplied by the double ring of lapped and ove-rspun material at I6.

The modification of Fig. 2 is similar to Fig. 1 in most respects and the parts are similarly numbered. In this case the inwardly bent portions I5 of the annular cover portions I3 have their extreme edges offset radially outward as at 2|. The offset edge of one cover is then spun over to engage beneath the offset edge of the other cover as indicated at 22. This construction is more rigid than that of Fig. 1 because of the outwardly extending circumferential rib formed by the two overlapped and interengaged offset edges of the covers.

The modification of Figs. 3 and 4 -i's similar to Fig. 2 with the additionof rigidifying ribs provided in the flat central portion of one or both covers. It is obvious this construction could be added to the form shown in Fig. 1, if desired. The rib-like deformations may be variously formed but I prefer those shown at 23 which extend radially from the annular portion I3 to a central point, such as 24. This construction is even more rigid than that of Fig. 2 and insures against the central portions I2 of the covers being easily pressed inward against the central portion of the packaged article or articles.

The packages shown in Figs. l to 5 are circular in plan.and` in certain respects such a shape gives greater rigidity to the package than other shapes would. However, many of the advantages of my invention are realized in packages of any desired plan, such as the rectangularA form illustrated in Fig. 6. Parts which function somewhat similarly to the parts of Figs. 1 to 5 have similar reference characters with the suilx a. The raised portions I3a form substantially a tube about the central portions 12a and the overlapping and spun-together edges at |6a give additional reinforcement. The ribs 23a may run transversely as shown, or to a central point, similar to Fig. 4, or may be omitted entirely.

It will be evident that a package constructed as taught by any of the illustrated forms will be tightly sealed against the entrance of foreign matter in such a manner that the covers cannot be easily removed by a pull normal to the central portions. Nor will such a package be easily opened by inserting a tlnger nail beneath the overlapping covers because in practice the covers will be of very thin material and tightly pressed together. However, the package may be easily opened without tools simply by twisting it in the hand, as illustrated in Fig. 5, which is the more easily accomplished because the packaging material is light and the packaged article is flexible. Such a twist will force one spun edge over its overlapped coacting edge, as indicated at 25, even though the package be constructed of fairly heavy gauge metal.

What I claim is:

1. A package comprising a pair of covers of metal foil on opposite sides of a packaged article, each cover having a substantially ilat central portion surrounded by a raised portion bent first outward away from the article, then bent back toward the article and beyond the plane` of the central portion, and the free edges of the covers being overlapped with the edge of one cover spun over upon the edge of the other cover in embracing relation, said raised portions being of a height to exert a reinforcing effect on the package as a whole and to furnish tightly embracing edges forming a sealed joint of considerable strength.

2. The package of claim 1 in which the overlapped edges are offset outwardly in a plane parallel to the central portion of the covers to form a rib extending peripherally about the package.

3. The package of claim 1, in which the central portion is provided with upstanding ribs to increase its rigidity.

4. A package for a flexible article comprising a pair of circular covers of metal foil adapted to be twisted by hand, each cover having a substantially flat portion and an annular portion sur-v rounding the at portion and raised thereabove, and the outer free edge oi the annular portion of one cover being pressed tightly against and spun over upon the outer free edge of the other cover, whereby the package is tightly sealed but openable without tools by twisting in the hands, said annular portions being of a height to exert a reinforcing effect on the package as a whole and to furnish tightly embracing edges forming a sealed joint of considerable strength.

5. A package for a ilexible article comprising a pair of circular covers of metal foil adapted to be twisted by hand, each cover having a substantially flat central portion and an outwardly bending annular portion surrounding the central portion and raised above it, and the outer free edge of the annular portion of one cover being bent toward and spun over upon the outer free edge of the annular portion of the other cover, whereby the covers may be separated without tools by twisting the entire package to force the spun edges apart, said annular portions being of a height to exert a reinforcing eiect on the lpackage as a whole and to furnish tightly embracing edges forming a sealed joint of considerable strength.

6. A package for a flexible article comprising a pair of circular covers ot metal foil adapted to be twisted by hand, each cover having a substantially fiat central portion and an outwardly bending annular portion surrounding the central portion and raised above it, said annular portions being substantially semi-circular in section, and the outer free edge or the annular portion of one cover being bent toward and spun over upon the outer free edge of the annular portion of the other cover, whereby the covers may be separatedwithtially ilat central portion surrounded by an annular portion, said annular portion extending in a smooth curve axially outward on one side of the plane of said central portion then axially inward beyond the plane of said central portion, the free edges of the covers being overlapped with the edge of one spun over upon the edge of the other in embracing relation, and the at portion of at least one cover having raised deformations extending radially from the annular portion to a central point, said annular portions being of av height to exert a reinforcing effect on the package as a whole -and to furnish tightly' embracing edges forming a. sealed joint of considerable strength. l l

9. A package for a flexible article comprising a pair of circular covers o1 metal foil not substantially over .005 inch in thickness, each cover having a substantially ilat central portion surrounded by an annular portion, said annular portion being bent outward on one side of the plane of said central portion then inward beyond theplane of -said central portion, and the free edges of the covers being overlapped with the edge of one spun over upon the edge of the other in embracing relation, Whereby said annular portions and said overlapping spun edges reinforce said foil material and maintain substantial rigidity of said package.

10. A .package comprising a pair of covers of sheet material adapted when grasped in the hands to be twisted and destroyed, said covers being adapted to be placed on opposite sides of a packaged article, each cover having a substantially flat central portion surrounded by a raised portion bent first outward away from the article, then bent back toward the article, and the` free edges of the covers being overlapped with the edge of one cover bentl over the edge of the other cover in embracing relation preventing separation of said covers in a direction normal to Tthe plane of said central portion, said raised portions being of a height to exert a reinforcing effect on the package as a whole and to furnish tightly embracing edges forming a sealed `joint of considerable strength.

PETER GRABLER. 

